Sportsline

Can the Astros even the series against their AL West rivals?

Is it too little too late for Cremonese? ...

This is Wolves last home game in the Premier League. ...

FanDuel. Tacking this on to my card, as Shohei Ohtani has been dominant on his home mound. The two-way phenom has a 36% K% in LA dating back to last season, including 19 punchouts over his last two home starts. Overall, he’s over this line in each of the last four, and from a qualitative perspective, him not being in the lineup when pitching (of late) does seem like he’s very focused on putting forth a Cy Young caliber season. Look for him to take care of business against an underwhelming Giants lineup.

The Astros have scored a total of four runs during their four-game skid. Seattle should have success against Lance McCullers, who owns a 9.39 ERA over his last five starts. Look for Randy Arozarena and Julio Rodriguez to lead the way as the Mariners improve to 7-0 against Houston this season.

Lance McCullers doesn’t have it. Through seven starts, his ERA is at 7.41, and that includes a 4.1-inning, 6-run dud vs. the Mariners. Bryce Miller comes off the IL for his season debut for Seattle. He was only OK last year but posted a 1.98 ERA in four MiLB starts and the Mariners’ pen has a 3.00 ERA in May. Houston has scored two runs or less in five of its last six.

Bryce Miller will make his season debut after lackluster season last year. Lance McCullers Jr. owns a 7.41 ERA and has allowed at least three runs in each of his last six starts. He’s backed by the, current, worst bullpen in baseball with a 6.02 ERA. Each team are two of the better offensive teams against righties as the over is 6-2 in their last eight meetings as well.

On the season Kumar Rocker had an excellent month of April where he allowed three runs or less in each start. In May his ERA is over 12 as he has had a couple of quick outings. Look for veteran Nolan Arenado to take advantage as he has had at least one hit or one run in ten straight starts. Take his combination line over.

We've played and won Cade Cunningham's under 27.5 prop in all four games this series. In eight games vs. the Cavs this season, he has yet to hit 28 points, averaging 20.6 per game vs. Cleveland. The books have dropped the line to 26.5, but we still like it. Yes, he's scored exactly 27 twice this season, but that's it. 27 in one game earlier this season, and 27 in Game 3. The Cavs have held him to 36.9% shooting and 30.0% from beyond the arc. He’s averaging 23.5 PPG in the 4 games, a good 3 points below tonight's prop.

While I lean toward the Pistons winning Game 5, I'm skeptical Jalen Duren will suddenly snap out of his funk while facing the duo of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. With Paul Reed playing well off the bench, we could see Duren's minutes decrease a little more. They've gone from 35 to 33 to 29 to 27 in this series. Duren's mandate from JB Bickerstaff is clear: rebound, defend and run the floor. Look for Duren to be more of a contributor but stay Under this scoring total for the 11th time in 12 playoff games.

Dennis Schroder recorded zero assists in Game 4. But his minutes remained consistent at 20 -- he's averaging 19.5 this series. The Cavs didn't need his playmaking Monday because Donovan Mitchell took over with 43 points. That's unlikely to happen in Detroit on Wednesday. In the first two games in Detroit, Schroder posted three and five assists. And in 30 games with the Cavs during the regular season, Schroder averaged 4.3 assists in 21.4 minutes per game.

Cavaliers guard James Harden totaled 15 combined rebounds and assists in Game 1. Since then, his totals have been 9, 9 and 11, the latter of which was with zero boards. The Pistons ranked No. 1 in fewest assists allowed to opposing point guards, so expect The Beard’s assist numbers to dip. His rebounding totals have dipped each of the four games.

FanDuel. Max Strus is averaging 5.1 rebounds per 25 minutes in his combined regular and postseason stats. He’s emerged as the Cavs top option off the bench, regularly closing games, and averaging 27 minutes this series. Clearing this line in eight of his last nine games, I like Strus to continue on that path tonight. The Cavs big man duo of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are only averaging a combined 11.3 rebounds per game this series - their struggles have forced Cleveland’ wings to crash the boards more frequently.

Daniss Jenkins has averaged 24 minutes off the bench in this series. In all four games, he recorded at least three assists. Going back even further, he has posted at least three assists in six straight games. During the regular season, he averaged 4.6 assists across 23 minutes a night at home. With the expectation that he will fill a similar role in Game 5, the over is the way to go here.

The home team has won all four games of this series. The Pistons took care of business during the first two games in Detroit, winning both by 10 points. They have won five straight home games, and each victory came by at least seven points. The Cavaliers are 0-5 on the road in the playoffs, so I’ll take the Pistons to cover this number with the series shifting back to Detroit.